Rip off a piece of tape and cover the hole from the inside of the shell... you're not trying to prvent paint from getting into the hole... you're trying to keep if from running into the inside of the shell where it would be ugly.

Rip off a piece of tape and cover the hole from the inside of the shell... you're not trying to prvent paint from getting into the hole... you're trying to keep if from running into the inside of the shell where it would be ugly.

Rip off a piece of tape and cover the hole from the inside of the shell... you're not trying to prvent paint from getting into the hole... you're trying to keep if from running into the inside of the shell where it would be ugly.

New member

You can also fill the holes with plumbers putty then after painting you can use a nice sharp drill bit and just twist it with your fingers to remove the putty. It works really good for stain too, if you have to do a shell that is pre-drilled.

Rip off a piece of tape and cover the hole from the inside of the shell... you're not trying to prvent paint from getting into the hole... you're trying to keep if from running into the inside of the shell where it would be ugly.

New member

It's not tough as in the difficulty of work, but to get a truly good finish it does take patience. And a dedicated work space where the drums can sit for about a week or two while you're doing the whole process. You pretty much sand the shell smooth, prime the surface, paint it with a few thin coats until you get the desired finish and then add a few coats of clear poly. I like to lightly sand between each coat of paint with very fine sandpaper. I use 0000 Steel wool to lightly sand in between the coats of poly. After the final clear coat, I wet sand with 2000 grit sandpaper and then take an orbital buffer to it with some 3M Trizact Machine Glaze. It gets pretty close to a professional high gloss finish. Without spraying anything.

I've also achieved a good hi gloss finish with the above process and a spray lacquer from an aerosol can that I got at Home Depot. The trick is the light sanding and the final wet sand and buffing with machine glaze.

wait 24 hours between each coat of paint and poly. patience. halfway through the process it may look like crap, but keep with the clear/lightly sanding coats and you will see improvements.

New member

^^^ Exactly 123 but try to let the shells rest for 2-4 weeks so the paint has time to properly cure if you don't the lacquer will dent/damage at the slightest perssure, believe me I've done a bass with spray cans and the lacquer smeared because
I put it in the stand.